{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,19]],"date-time":"2026-02-19T04:51:10Z","timestamp":1771476670461,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,9]],"date-time":"2020-05-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1588982400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The aim of this study was two-fold: (1) to analyze the variations of acute load, training monotony, and training strain among early (pre-season), mid (first half of season), and end season (second half of season) periods; (2) to compare these training indicators for playing positions in different moments of the season. Nineteen professional players (age: 26.5 \u00b1 4.3 years; experience as professional: 7.5 \u00b1 4.3 years) from a European First League team participated in this study. The players were monitored daily over a 45-week period for the total distance (TD), distance covered (DC) at 14 km\/h\u22121 or above (DC &gt; 14 km\/h), high-speed running above 19.8 km\/h\u22121 (HSR) distance, and number of sprints above 25.2 km\/h\u22121. The acute load (sum of load during a week), training monotony (mean of training load during the seven days of the week divided by the standard deviation of the training load of the seven days), and training strain (sum of the training load for all training sessions and matches during a week multiplied by training monotony) workload indices were calculated weekly for each measure and per player. Results revealed that training monotony and training strain for HSR were meaningfully greater in pre-season than in the first half of the in-season (p \u2264 0.001; d = 0.883 and p \u2264 0.001; d = 0.712, respectively) and greater than the second half of the in-season (p \u2264 0.001; d = 0.718 and p \u2264 0.001; d = 0.717). The training monotony for the sprints was meaningfully greater in pre-season than in the first half of in-season (p &lt; 0.001; d = 0.953) and greater than the second half of in-season (p \u2264 0.001; d = 0.916). Comparisons between playing positions revealed that small-to-moderate effect sizes differences mainly for the number of sprints in acute load, training monotony, and training strain. In conclusion, the study revealed that greater acute load, training monotony, and training strain occurred in the pre-season and progressively decreased across the season. Moreover, external defenders and wingers were subjected to meaningfully greater acute load and training strain for HSR and number of sprints during the season compared to the remaining positions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17093300","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,11]],"date-time":"2020-05-11T10:01:18Z","timestamp":1589191278000},"page":"3300","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":63,"title":["Weekly Load Variations of Distance-Based Variables in Professional Soccer Players: A Full-Season Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9813-2842","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Filipe Manuel","family":"Clemente","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun\u2019\u00c1lvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, Delega\u00e7\u00e3o da Covilh\u00e3, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Rui","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Escola Superior Desporto e Lazer, Instituto Polit\u00e9cnico de Viana do Castelo, Rua Escola Industrial e Comercial de Nun\u2019\u00c1lvares, 4900-347 Viana do Castelo, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4159-6475","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Daniel","family":"Castillo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Isabel I, Calle de Fern\u00e1n Gonz\u00e1lez, 76, 09003 Burgos, Spain"}]},{"given":"Asier","family":"Los Arcos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of the Basque Country, Universidad del Pa\u00eds Vasco-Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Lasarte 71, 01007 Vitoria, Gasteiz, Spain"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2462-7847","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bruno","family":"Mendes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisboa, Estr. da Costa, Cruz Quebrada, 1495-751 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2038-393X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jos\u00e9","family":"Afonso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Research, Education, Innovation and Intervention in Sport, Faculty of Sport, University of Porto, R. Dr. Pl\u00e1cido da Costa 91, 4200-450 Porto, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Fitzpatrick, J.F., Hicks, K.M., Russell, M., and Hayes, P.R. (2019). The Reliability of Potential Fatigue-Monitoring Measures in Elite Youth Soccer Players. J. Strength Cond. Res."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"139","DOI":"10.1007\/s40279-014-0253-z","article-title":"Monitoring training load to understand fatigue in athletes","volume":"44","author":"Halson","year":"2014","journal-title":"Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"270","DOI":"10.1123\/ijspp.2018-0935","article-title":"Internal and External Training Load: 15 Years On","volume":"14","author":"Impellizzeri","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1451","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2016-097298","article-title":"The athlete monitoring cycle: A practical guide to interpreting and applying training monitoring data","volume":"51","author":"Gabbett","year":"2017","journal-title":"Br. J. Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"S2-35","DOI":"10.1123\/ijspp.2016-0499","article-title":"Player-Tracking Technology: Half-Full or Half-Empty Glass?","volume":"12","author":"Buchheit","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1470","DOI":"10.1519\/JSC.0000000000001221","article-title":"The Validity and Reliability of Global Positioning Systems in Team Sport","volume":"30","author":"Scott","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Strength Cond. Res."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1306","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsports-2015-095871","article-title":"Sports-Related workload and injury risk: Simply knowing the risks will not prevent injuries: Narrative review","volume":"50","author":"Drew","year":"2016","journal-title":"Br. J. Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"579","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jsams.2017.10.005","article-title":"Examination of the external and internal load indicators\u2019 association with overuse injuries in professional soccer players","volume":"21","author":"Jaspers","year":"2017","journal-title":"J. Sci. Med. Sport"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1249\/JSR.0000000000000576","article-title":"Sports Training Principles","volume":"18","author":"Kasper","year":"2019","journal-title":"Curr. Sports Med. Rep."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"95","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1600-0838.2010.01192.x","article-title":"Preventing overtraining in athletes in high-intensity sports and stress\/recovery monitoring","volume":"20","author":"Kellmann","year":"2010","journal-title":"Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1163","DOI":"10.1123\/ijspp.2016-0607","article-title":"Supercompensation Kinetics of Physical Qualities During a Taper in Team-Sport Athletes","volume":"12","author":"Marrier","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1164","DOI":"10.1097\/00005768-199807000-00023","article-title":"Monitoring training in athletes with reference to overtraining syndrome","volume":"30","author":"Foster","year":"1998","journal-title":"Med. Sci. Sports Exerc."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"809","DOI":"10.1136\/bjsm.2009.069476","article-title":"Monitoring stress and recovery: New insights for the prevention of injuries and illnesses in elite youth soccer players","volume":"44","author":"Brink","year":"2010","journal-title":"Br. J. Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105","DOI":"10.1080\/24733938.2018.1508881","article-title":"Workload monotony, strain and non-contact injury incidence in professional football players","volume":"3","author":"Delecroix","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sci. Med. Footb."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"237","DOI":"10.1080\/24733938.2017.1339120","article-title":"Workload profiles prior to injury in professional soccer players","volume":"1","author":"Lu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Sci. Med. Footb."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Clemente, F.M., Clark, C., Castillo, D., Sarmento, H., Nikolaidis, P.T., Rosemann, T., and Knechtle, B. (2019). Variations of training load, monotony, and strain and dose-response relationships with maximal aerobic speed, maximal oxygen uptake, and isokinetic strength in professional soccer players. PLoS ONE, 14.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0225522"},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"222","article-title":"Performance Characteristics According to Playing Position in Elite Soccer","volume":"28","author":"Baron","year":"2007","journal-title":"Endosc."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Oliveira, R., De Brito, J.P.R.G.M., Martins, A., Mendes, B., Marinho, D.A., Ferraz, R., and Marques, M.C. (2019). In-season internal and external training load quantification of an elite European soccer team. PLoS ONE, 14.","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0209393"},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"262","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physbeh.2017.06.021","article-title":"Internal training load and its longitudinal relationship with seasonal player wellness in elite professional soccer","volume":"179","author":"Clemente","year":"2017","journal-title":"Physiol. Behav."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"930","DOI":"10.3389\/fphys.2017.00930","article-title":"Proposal of a Global Training Load Measure Predicting Match Performance in an Elite Team Sport","volume":"8","author":"Lazarus","year":"2017","journal-title":"Front. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1288","DOI":"10.3389\/fphys.2018.01288","article-title":"The Validity and Between-Unit Variability of GNSS Units (STATSports Apex 10 and 18 Hz) for Measuring Distance and Peak Speed in Team Sports","volume":"9","author":"Beato","year":"2018","journal-title":"Front. Physiol."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"317","DOI":"10.5114\/biolsport.2019.88754","article-title":"The inter-unit and inter-model reliability of GNSS STATSports Apex and Viper units in measuring peak speed over 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 meters","volume":"36","author":"Beato","year":"2019","journal-title":"Boil. Sport"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"50","DOI":"10.1123\/ijspp.1.1.50","article-title":"Making Meaningful Inferences About Magnitudes","volume":"1","author":"Batterham","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"149","DOI":"10.5114\/biolsport.2017.64588","article-title":"In-season training periodization of professional soccer players","volume":"34","author":"Arcos","year":"2017","journal-title":"Boil. Sport"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Meckel, Y., Doron, O., Eliakim, E., and Eliakim, A. (2018). Seasonal Variations in Physical Fitness and Performance Indices of Elite Soccer Players. Sports, 6.","DOI":"10.3390\/sports6010014"},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"489","DOI":"10.1123\/ijspp.2014-0352","article-title":"Seasonal Training-Load Quantification in Elite English Premier League Soccer Players","volume":"10","author":"Malone","year":"2015","journal-title":"Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1018","DOI":"10.1055\/s-2007-965158","article-title":"Variation in Top Level Soccer Match Performance","volume":"28","author":"Rampinini","year":"2007","journal-title":"Int. J. Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"304","DOI":"10.1055\/s-0030-1248320","article-title":"Activity Profile in Elite Italian Soccer Team","volume":"31","author":"Vigne","year":"2010","journal-title":"Int. J. Sports Med."},{"key":"ref_29","unstructured":"Metaxas, T.I. (2018). Match Running Performance of Elite Soccer Players. J. Strength Cond. Res., 1\u20137."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"159","DOI":"10.1080\/02640410802512775","article-title":"High-intensity running in English FA Premier League soccer matches","volume":"27","author":"Bradley","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Sports Sci."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"351","DOI":"10.1519\/JSC.0000000000001063","article-title":"Player Load, Acceleration, and Deceleration During Forty\u2014Five Competitive Matches of Elite Soccer","volume":"30","author":"Dalen","year":"2016","journal-title":"J. Strength Cond. Res."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"101","DOI":"10.1080\/17461391.2014.933879","article-title":"Acceleration and sprint profiles of a professional elite football team in match play","volume":"15","author":"Ingebrigtsen","year":"2014","journal-title":"Eur. J. Sport Sci."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.2478\/hukin-2018-0054","article-title":"Characterization of the Weekly External Load Profile of Professional Soccer Teams from Portugal and the Netherlands","volume":"66","author":"Clemente","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Hum. Kinet."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/17\/9\/3300\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T09:27:07Z","timestamp":1760174827000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/17\/9\/3300"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,9]]},"references-count":33,"journal-issue":{"issue":"9","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,5]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph17093300"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph17093300","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,9]]}}}